Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins have been heretofore widely used as materials for interior automotive trim. However, the automotive trim made of the polyvinyl chloride resins have problems in various properties such as heat resistance, low-temperature resistance, heat aging characteristics, light resistance, anti-fogging properties, odor development, lack of the soft texture and cheap-looking appearance. For this reason, polyolefin thermoplastic elastomers excellent in those properties are desired as replacements of the polyvinyl chloride resins.
When a partially crosslinked thermoplastic elastomer is used to produce a vacuum forming sheet, the vacuum forming properties of the sheet are inferior to vacuum forming sheets containing polyvinyl chloride resins. Therefore, it is necessary to either reduce the rubber content in the partially crosslinked thermoplastic elastomer or to use a polyolefin thermoplastic elastomer which is not crosslinked (hereinafter, it is sometimes referred as a non-crosslinked thermoplastic elastomer) in place of the partially crosslinked thermoplastic elastomer.
However, if a molded product is made of the partially crosslinked polyolefin thermoplastic elastomer having a low content of rubber by vacuum forming, the resulting product is rigid and lacks a soft texture (softness). If a molded product is made of the non-crosslinked thermoplastic elastomer by vacuum forming, the resulting product is insufficient in heat resistance, rubbery properties and toughness, and is too high in surface glossiness. Low surface gloss of the resulting products is preferable.